Our Dear Ms. Greer

When one hears the name Dina Greer, for all those who had her, they are filled with joy and excitement because of the memories her name brings to them. She is one of the kindest, sweetest, smartest, and most compassionate people one could ever have the pleasure of meeting, and her love for wintergreen mints and how willing she is to share them only adds to her beautiful personality. Her class is one that is looked forward to by all, and it grows to be like a small family where everyone gets along well because of her. My class specifically has many memories with our dear Ms. Greer.

There were multiple times last year when we had the last few minutes of class to relax, and Ms. Greer would look for her phone and begin to frantically search for it once she realized she had no idea where it was. Our class would help her search for it but have to leave before knowing if she located it or not. The next day when we came in, she would tell us where it was, and we would all laugh about it. There also was the time she came to class excited because that morning she had been on the radio, and she wanted us to listen to what she had said. One day I remember in particular is the day she announced a pop quiz. The entire class was upset because we obviously did not want to take it, but she said it with a smile and the radiant energy only Ms. Greer is capable of giving off, and it forced us to acquiesce because it is impossible to be upset with her personally, even for a second. Then, on one of our tests, she decided we would have an extra credit question, but instead of it being based on the topic, she made it about her children to see if we remembered the stories she told us. She told us stories of her life often, which made us grow even closer to her. One of my favorite memories from her class, however, has to be making The Scarlet Letter rules. We came up with a bunch of ridiculous ideas and eventually narrowed them down to the ones we ended up having which included food every long block throughout the book, Meditation Mondays, and Compliment Mondays. If you did not comply with these rules, you would be forced to stand on the scaffold, just like Hester Prynne did after committing adultery. There are so many other memories as well, but those are secrets only my class and she will ever know.

I am not, by any means, the only one who feels this immense love for Ms. Greer. I would put a quote in for myself, but through the memories I shared, it is obvious how I feel about this incredibly wonderful woman. In a quote from former student Ciara O’Connor, Ms. Greer, “always treated us as we deserved and not like we were kids who were inferior to her. She was always someone you could count on and tell your stories to. Her class was the thing most people looked forward to because it was a place where you could learn, have fun, and be yourself without judgment.” Another former student, Caitlyn Enos, says Ms. Greer is, “one of the only teachers I ever trusted to tell everything to. She made me feel smart.”

Ms. Greer is a loving mother to more than just Maddie and James, but to all of those she has ever had in class. When you step into her classroom, you feel as if everything will be okay, even if it is just for that period. She has had a permanent impact on all of her students, me especially, and I will never be able to forget the good times we shared. She was sick quite a lot last year, and I wish I could have had more time with her. I missed her immensely while she was gone, but now I can stop in and visit her any time I need someone to brighten my day or if I simply want to say hi. However, there is always next year where I hopefully will be able to spend the remainder of my high school career in the class that always managed to make me happy.